Simba

After a while, a black crystal glowing faint blue appeared above Rutherford's head. Suddenly, Rutherford let out a bloodcurdling scream. Monet and the others had no idea what was happening, but Olivier knew that it was the cry of a soul being split in two.

Shortly afterward, a white crystalline object flew out from Rutherford's head and entered the black crystal.

"Rutherford's soul?" Souls came in all kinds of forms in the original story. Rutherford's soul was crystalline, Olivier thought.

A second Rutherford slowly formed around the black crystal. It was Rutherford's divine clone.

After a while, that vast, soul-shaking power faded away. Though they had just endured unimaginable pain, both Rutherfords were overjoyed, still immersed in the sensation of becoming gods.

"Olivier, thank you." Once Rutherford had recovered, he cupped his hands toward Olivier in salute. Without Olivier, he had no idea how many years it would have taken him to become a god.

"Congratulations, congratulations. Rutherford, you seized the opportunity yourself. If it had been someone else, they probably wouldn't have succeeded. Otherwise, I could just specialize in helping people become gods." Olivier accepted it openly, though he chuckled inwardly.

"My lord, congratulations on becoming a god," Monet and the others stepped forward to congratulate him.

"Yes. A dream of so many years has finally come true. If you work hard, you all have hope as well," Rutherford said with a sigh.

Olivier snorted disdainfully. You succeeded, so of course it was easy for you to say. How could becoming a god be so easy for everyone else?

He had always seen people slaughtering gods in novels before. Olivier wanted to see just how powerful a divine expert truly was, whether it was possible for a Saint to slaughter a god. Though in the Coiling Dragon World, gods were invincible.

"Rutherford, let us see the power of a god," Olivier said.

Monet and the others also looked at Rutherford expectantly.

"Alright." Rutherford covered everyone with his divine domain.

Olivier felt an immense pressure descend upon him, rendering him unable to move. He mobilized all the energy in his body, along with his already powerful soul force, yet he still could not shake Rutherford's divine domain. However, Olivier felt that he was almost able to break free. He was just a little short.

Olivier gave up trying to break free. Even if he could escape, he would not be a match for a divine expert. He could only abandon the idea of sparring with a god. In any case, it seemed he would have no chance to slaughter a god, so cultivating until he became one himself was more reliable.

Seeing Olivier attempt to break free from his divine domain, Rutherford laughed at his wishful thinking, though he understood it.

Rutherford withdrew his divine domain.

"Gods truly are powerful," Olivier said with a sigh. But he was not envious. Sooner or later, he would reach the divine level and become a god.

Not long after Rutherford became a god, he began introducing Olivier to some of the magical beasts and experts on the ice plain as thanks. Monet and the others were present as well.

Suddenly, a figure appeared beside Rutherford.

"Rutherford, you became a god too. You're not much worse than me now." A voice rang out.

No one, including Rutherford, had noticed anyone approaching beforehand.

"Cesar, you became a god, so naturally I couldn't fall behind." Rutherford was the first to recognize the newcomer and replied smugly. He had dealt with Cesar before and knew that Cesar was quite full of himself.

"Cesar's Shadow Transformation Technique really is impressive. I didn't sense him at all," Olivier thought in amazement.

"Lord Cesar," Monet and the others said.

"Lord Cesar." Though Olivier was reluctant, he still had to show Cesar some respect for now.

"And this is?" Cesar had never met Olivier, but he could tell that Olivier was not weak, so he asked.

"This is Olivier. Before you became a god, his speed was much faster than yours," Rutherford said. Before becoming a god, among these peak Saints, only Fane could compare to Cesar in speed.

"Oh!" Cesar was inwardly surprised. His speed had been extremely formidable back then, but now he had become a god while Olivier was only a Saint. Cesar lost interest.

"Rutherford, let's have a match," Cesar said. War God and the others had all been gods for thousands of years, and Cesar had no habit of seeking a beating, so he had not fought since becoming a god.

Having finally encountered someone who had only just become a god, how could Cesar let him go?

"Alright." Rutherford also wanted to experience a battle between gods.

Cesar and Rutherford stood proudly in midair, a hundred meters apart.

Olivier and the others stood several thousand meters away from the battlefield.

"Who do you think will win, Lord Rutherford or Lord Cesar?" someone asked.

"How could people like us possibly guess the outcome of a battle between gods?" Monet glared at him.

Snowflakes danced around Rutherford, and space itself seemed to twist.

Around Cesar, it felt somewhat dark. He himself gave off the impression that he was about to vanish.

Suddenly, both of them moved.

Rutherford transformed into a series of afterimages, while Cesar vanished from his original position. Then earthshaking sounds came from their clash.

Olivier could sense the tremendous power within it. If it had been him, he would surely have been reduced to ashes already. Divine experts and Saints truly were as different as heaven and earth. How laughable that he had wondered whether a Saint could slaughter a god.

Having only just become a god, Rutherford had no particularly wondrous techniques. Furthermore, after becoming a god through the Mysteries of Ice, his physical attack and defense were both very strong. Thus, Rutherford directly fought Cesar in a brutal manner.

Cesar, meanwhile, maintained the bearing of an assassin, launching sneak attacks without pause. However, every time, Rutherford's savage fists were waiting for him.

Suddenly, Cesar split into hundreds of Cesars, each one attacking Rutherford.

"Rutherford, take this move of mine—Shadow Strike!" countless Cesars said simultaneously.

"The Shadow Transformation Technique truly is marvelous," Olivier thought. I wonder when I'll be able to comprehend it.

"Hmph, come at me." Rutherford did not dare lower his guard. He defended with all his strength while searching for Cesar's true body.

Rutherford finally discovered Cesar's true body just as the attack reached him, but it was a little too late. He hastily blocked, yet Cesar still struck him on the shoulder.

However, the defensive power of the Mysteries of Ice was indeed formidable. Rutherford was not seriously injured, only startled. He was sent flying several thousand meters and smashed a huge pit into the ice.

Still, Cesar had indeed won this match. Rutherford had remained on the defensive the entire time and was ultimately sent flying. In a life-or-death duel, Rutherford might not necessarily have lost, considering how strong his defense was.

Cesar, on the other hand, specialized in sneak attacks, but his offensive power was not particularly strong.

"Rutherford, hehe, I accidentally won," Cesar said smugly.

"Hmph. If I hadn't just broken through, how could you possibly have won?" Rutherford's expression was somewhat ugly. He had been sent flying in front of so many people.

"I'm off." Cesar vanished after saying that.

"I'll be leaving too." Olivier could tell that Rutherford was not in a very good mood.

Olivier also turned into a streak of light and vanished across the vast ice plain.

After leaving Rutherford, Olivier planned to visit the other experts of the ice plain and admire its scenery along the way.

According to Rutherford's introduction, Olivier successively visited quite a few experts on the ice plain, both humans and magical beasts. The laws and profound mysteries they cultivated varied greatly—Wind Element, Earth Element, Darkness Element, Light Element, Water Element, and more—with the Laws of Water Elements being the most common.

Olivier would first spar with them, then have a proper talk. Every one of these people and magical beasts had cultivated for hundreds or thousands of years and possessed considerable knowledge. Through them, Olivier gained a better understanding of this world.

After visiting dozens in succession, including Ice Bear Misha, Olivier planned for his final stop to be Snow Lion Simba. Then he would return to the O'Brien Empire to see Blumer.

Snow Lion Simba's lair was beside the North Sea, at the southernmost end of the Arctic Ice Plain.

A huge snow-white lion lay sprawled atop an iceberg. Aside from his black eyes and golden claws, his entire body was as white as the snow on the ice plain, extremely beautiful. If he shrank into the size of a cat, he would surely charm countless girls to death.

Olivier suddenly had an idea. He wanted to subdue this rogue lion and get himself a mount to ride around on.

With Olivier's speed and soul force, if he wished it, no Saint would be able to detect him.

"Rogue lion." Therefore, Olivier only spoke when he had approached very close to Simba, informing Simba that someone had arrived.

Simba immediately leaped up, hurriedly retreating as he searched for the source of the voice.

"Who are you?" Simba asked warily. The other party had gotten so close, yet he had not sensed anything. Had his strength declined recently? Simba asked himself inwardly.

"My name is Olivier." Olivier grinned.

"What do you want, interrupting this lion's sleep?" Simba said impatiently.

"What do I want? We'll talk after we fight." Olivier knew that he had to beat Simba into submission first. Otherwise, there was no hope of subduing him. He did not waste words and directly drew the Mystic Ice Sword to stab forward.

"Shameless! You actually launched a sneak attack!" Simba hurriedly met the attack and nearly got stabbed by Olivier. He was furious.

"If I had wanted to sneak attack you, you'd already be dead." As Olivier spoke, the sword in his hand grew faster and faster.

"Damn it, how is he so fast?" Simba could barely react. He was stabbed several times, though only his skin was cut.

"Your defense is decent, and your speed isn't bad either." Olivier was surprised by Simba's defense. At this moment, his speed had nearly reached its limit. It was even a little faster than when he had fought Rutherford. If Rutherford had not broken through, his speed would have been considerably slower than Simba's.

It seemed he would need to use some methods.

"If you've got the skill, don't rely on speed!" From the start, Simba had not even touched Olivier's clothes. He had been suppressed the entire time, and he was extremely displeased. When had Simba ever suffered such a loss?

"Fine, I'll play with you. Ten Thousand Swords Return to Origin." Olivier used his ultimate technique, stacking only three sword strikes.

The Mystic Ice Sword collided with Simba's claws. Simba retreated over a hundred meters, while Olivier remained unmoved. Simba felt some pain in his claws, and his skin had been cut as well.

"Hehe, how was that?" Olivier smiled.

"His speed is so fast, yet he can still clash head-on with me. It seems he's stronger than I am," Simba thought.

"I admit that you're stronger than me, but I have an ultimate move too. Don't push me," Simba said aloud.

"If that sword strike from before had stabbed into your body, I wonder what would have happened?" Olivier said.

"Hmph." Seeing that Olivier had remained calm all along and had clearly used only part of his power, Simba did not want to be beaten senseless.

"What exactly do you want?" Simba asked.

"Alright, enough nonsense. I need a mount," Olivier said.

"You've gone too far! A warrior may be killed but not humiliated!" Simba said furiously.

"It would be very easy for me to kill you. You admit that, don't you?" Simba knew Olivier was speaking the truth and had no response.

"Follow me for one year, and I'll guarantee that you become a god. What do you say?" Olivier added.

"Really? Who do you think you are? You haven't even become a god yourself, so how can you guarantee that for me?" If he could truly become a god, Simba would definitely agree.

"I have cultivated for less than sixty years. I am confident that I will become a god within ten years. If you refuse, I'll kill you right now." Olivier threatened him, unwilling to waste any more time with Simba.

"Fine." Simba had always been a rogue and had little integrity. After considering it again and again, he decided that staying alive was more important.

After signing a master-servant contract and subduing Simba, Olivier rode him toward the O'Brien Empire.